Chapter 6: The Threat of the Ironborn and the Wildlings

The birthday banquet continued; Domeric Bolton was singing, people were laughing and talking, and wine cups were clinking.

Benjen Stark approached Eddard; he had a lean build and a long face, black hair, and grey eyes, and now served as the First Ranger of the Night's Watch.

"Eddard, it is summer now, and Winter Town is packed with tens of thousands of people. What is going on? When Commander Mormont and I traveled south, we kept encountering people heading toward Winter Town on the Kingsroad. Rumors are flying; some say the Duke is gathering the commoners to deal with the Ironborn, some say it is to sweep the Wildlings north of the Wall, and some say the Long Summer is coming to an end."

Eddard smiled and said, "I only wish to make the North wealthy and strong, so that when winter comes, the people of the North can live better lives; that is all. How are things at the Wall?"

Benjen sighed, "The same as always. All sorts of thieves, poachers, and perverted scum are sent to the Wall, and fewer and fewer decent men volunteer to join the Night's Watch. Yet the power of Mance Rayder, the King-Beyond-the-Wall, grows stronger; this fellow might actually launch a full-scale assault on the Wall."

The Old Bear, Mormont, leaned in, "Lord Eddard, the Wall needs men. I have spoken with Jory Cassel, the Captain of the Guard; he said that the flow of people in Winter Town is too heavy lately, and the law and order is poor. His guards have caught some thieves and perverts and locked them in cages—fewer than twenty in total. Hand these scoundrels over to me!"

With so many people flooding into Winter Town, a decline in public order was inevitable; there were always pickpockets and bandits mixing into the crowd. Over the past few days, Jory Cassel had expanded his guard to 200 men. These 200 guards, armed with daggers, clubs, and longswords, patrolled back and forth between Winter Town and Winterfell, catching a batch of criminals, and the situation had gradually stabilized.

The Night's Watch had always been a friend to Winterfell, guarding the Wall and holding the Wildling armies at bay beyond the Wall. However, with their numbers dwindling, the Night's Watch struggled to cope with the endless stream of Wildling Raiders. Often, Wildlings would either scale the Wall or take boats to sneak across Seal Bay, entering the lands of the Umber, Wull, and Karstark houses to burn, kill, and plunder.

"Take them all!" Eddard could not refuse the request of the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. "But these men are all scum; won't they just look for a chance to slip away? These days, there are more and more deserters from the Night's Watch, too."

The Old Bear said, "I will keep them in line. Lord Eddard, there is no help for it; most of those sent to the Wall these days are outlaws, yet even with such scum, I still do not have enough men. I once dreamed of reclaiming manors in the Gift to restore its vitality, but it seems there is little chance of that."

Lord Wull, "Big Bucket," leaned in, "Mormont, Wildlings often cross the Gift to plunder our mountain clan lands. 'The shield that guards the realms of men,' eh? Whenever large groups of Wildling Raiders appear, it is always the Umber house and our mountain tribes that wipe out these bastards."

The Gift was land that Jaehaerys I Targaryen and Queen Alysanne had persuaded Winterfell to donate to the Night's Watch years ago; it was a stretch of land south of the Wall. Initially, the taxes from the manors there had indeed helped the Night's Watch, but now, due to frequent harassment by Wildlings, the tenant farmers had all fled south, and it had almost become a no-man's-land, completely desolate.

Eddard said, "Lord Mormont, perhaps if Winterfell takes over the administration of the Gift and I send men to farm the land, it could help the Night's Watch."

The Old Bear frowned, "Lord Eddard, the Gift was a gift from Winterfell to the Night's Watch back then. It was witnessed by the King and Queen of the Targaryen family at the time, as well as the gods above."

Eddard smiled, "Don't be nervous. I am not trying to take back the Gift; the North has plenty of land waiting to be reclaimed. I mean to develop it together. I plan to send troops there to establish military colonies centered on Crown Town. The people there will farm during the day and train during the off-season. If they discover Wildling Raiders, they will light the beacon towers and hunt these Wildlings with the Night's Watch. I will share a portion of the military colonies' yields with the Night's Watch."

The doubt in the Old Bear's eyes vanished, "That would be excellent."

The Old Bear left, and Lord Norrey, Lord Flint, Lord Liddle, and Lord Wull—the leaders of the mountain tribes—immediately crowded around.

Lord Liddle, dressed in animal skins, stout and short, said, "Lord Eddard, what exactly is going on with Winter Town? People from places like Barrowton, Karhold, and White Harbor have wealthy lords; even without Winter Town, they have a hope of surviving the winter, but we mountain clans are different."

"Once winter arrives and the heavy snow blocks the mountains, our lives in the mountains become a torment. Without Winter Town, we can only close our eyes and wait for death. Many elders in my tribe, worried that there would be no room in Winter Town when winter comes, had to leave their homes early to come here. I see that Winter Town is already overcrowded; does this mean that when winter comes, you will truly not accept our mountain clans?"

Eddard took Liddle's hand, "Lord Liddle, remember this: the halls of Winterfell will always be open to the mountain clans!"

The leaders of the mountain tribes cheered in their gruff voices.

Lord Wull said, "Lord Eddard, this time, over a hundred people from my tribe have come to settle in Winter Town. Now that they have a place to stay, I am relieved. However, on the other hand, with our numbers reduced, we are even more passive in the face of invasions by Ironborn Pirates and Wildling Raiders."

The Wull tribe lived in the mountains by the Bay of Ice. This tribe had to guard against Ironborn Pirates while fishing and guard against Wildlings while herding, and they held deep hostility toward both the Ironborn and the Wildlings.

Eddard said, "I just discussed it with Commander Mormont; we will establish military colonies in the Gift to defend against the Wildlings. As for the threat of the Ironborn on the West Coast, I have a plan for that as well."

After the banquet ended, the servants cleared away the feast and replaced the tables and chairs, and Eddard summoned his vassals for a meeting.

Before the meeting began, Eddard noticed Theon, Robb, and Jon standing in the corner of the hall chatting with Domeric Bolton.

"Theon, Jory has been complaining that there aren't enough men patrolling Winter Town; go and help him!" Since this meeting would inevitably involve the topic of the Ironborn, Eddard did not want Theon to remain there, lest it hurt his self-esteem.

Theon bowed and left, his expression clearly very dissatisfied.

Eddard sat on the Direwolf Throne and looked around at his vassals.

"I intend to set up a series of arrow towers along the West Coast—in Bear Island, Deepwood Motte, the Rills, Flint's Finger, Sea Dragon Point, and Barrowton—and station troops there."

This news immediately caused an uproar among the lords. Lord Ryswell of the Rills stroked his snow-white beard, Galbart Glover of Deepwood Motte exchanged glances with his brother Herman Tallhart, Lady Maege Mormont of Bear Island cursed aloud, and Lady Barbrey whispered to Roose Bolton at her side.

Herman Tallhart said, "Lord Eddard, the Ironborn come from the sea. To defend against the Ironborn, we should be building ships; what use are arrow towers?"

Eddard said, "The Ironborn are a seafaring people. We only have fishing boats on the West Coast and cannot compete with the Ironborn longships for the time being. If we station troops in the arrow towers, the Ironborn pirates will have to pay a price when they come."

Maege Mormont said gruffly, "Lord Eddard, both the arrow towers and the soldiers cost money. Who will pay for it? My Bear Island is very poor indeed."

Eddard said, "The lord of the land where the arrow tower is located will pay half, and the remaining portion will be shared among the other lords."

At this moment, Eddard noticed that Theon had actually returned and was standing beside Robb, Domeric Bolton, and Jon Snow.

Roose Bolton said softly, "That is useless, Lord Eddard. It would be better to send troops directly to the Iron Islands to hold Balon Greyjoy accountable. Isn't he the leader of the Ironborn raiders? If we wipe out the bandit's nest, there will be peace under heaven."

Eddard frowned, "Roose, I am the Warden of the North, maintaining the peace of the realm in Robert Baratheon's name. If our army were to march on the Iron Islands, we would become the villains who destroyed the peace of the realm."

Moreover, Eddard knew that the Ironborn were very difficult to deal with at sea. When Balon Greyjoy rebelled years ago, Robert Baratheon had to gather the armies of the Riverlands, the Westerlands, the Stormlands, and the North, plus the Royal Fleet, to destroy the Iron Fleet and force Balon to hand over his son as a hostage and kneel in submission.

If the "ragtag fleet" of the Northern Army were to sail toward the Iron Islands, it would be a question of whether they could even successfully land in front of the Ironborn longship fleet, let alone conquer them.

A wolf-like smile bloomed on Lady Barbrey's face. "Lord Eddard, why are the Ironborn pirates so rampant? It is because you are soft-hearted. Your ward, Theon Greyjoy, is Balon's only living son. When the Ironborn raided the North, you should have slaughtered Theon long ago. He counted on you not to harm a hostage, which is why he is so fearless."

Wull chimed in, "Indeed, what is the use of a hostage you cannot harm?"

Sir Herman Tallhart clenched his hand into a fist, "He should be killed!"

Lord Rickard shrugged, "Should have done it long ago."

Eddard had not expected the meeting to develop to this point.

Theon was furious and about to lash out, but was stopped by Robb and Domeric Bolton.

Roose Bolton's soft, whispering voice interrupted the discussion.

"Actually, I am quite fond of the boy Theon. His father must be warned, but it is not strictly necessary to kill the boy. I suggest cutting off a piece of Theon's skin and sending it to Balon Greyjoy; if he is smart, he will keep his subordinates in check."

Theon turned and left, and Robb chased after him.

Eddard sighed, "My lords, I am sorry to see you discussing how to murder a young man in such a serious manner. The Ironborn are difficult to control; every captain is a king on his own ship. Balon Greyjoy can control the Iron Islands, but he cannot control those Ironborn pirates scattered on godforsaken islands. Killing Theon would be of no use. This matter ends here."

(End of Chapter)